Science Book Prize awarded to Hirosi Ooguri

Hirosi Ooguri, Principal Investigator of the Kavli IPMU, has won the 30th Kodansha Prize for Science Books. Established in 1985, it is the only major prize for science books in Japan.

This is the third of Ooguri’s popular science books published in Japan in the last two years. The first book was entitled “What is Gravity?” and the second book dealt with the other three fundamental forces in nature, namely, strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces. In this third book, he introduces Superstring Theory that unifies all of the forces, completing his Trilogy on Forces in Nature.

Ooguri’s book is recognized as the best science book published in Japan from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. Professor Makoto Kobayashi, 2008 Nobel laureate, wrote on behalf of the selection committee: “This book attempts to explain the difficult and challenging theory as simple as possible without compromising its accuracy. Author’s caliber and depth of understanding are evident in his accurate description of the essence of the theory with effective use of analogies, and with almost no equations. Moreover, author’s personal stories successfully convey his passion for research.”

The prize comes with a cash award of one million yen (approximately $10,000). The award ceremony will be held in September at the Tokyo Kaikan.